


The Simple Pleasure of Being Alive

by parttimefemmefatale (writingramblr)



Series: Valentine's Day collection 2/14/14 [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures - Various Authors
Genre: F/M, Fluffy, Romance, Sweet, drabble from the stone rose, dw novel, early valentine's day present, the stone rose, written while i have pneumonia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 21:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1164726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingramblr/pseuds/parttimefemmefatale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kiss, it was much more than a simple "thank you"<br/>It spoke volumes, and words the Doctor couldn't form.</p><p>Obvious spoilers for "the Stone Rose"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Simple Pleasure of Being Alive

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this, stuck in bed, with pneumonia, which i still have, and it was only after a bit of fangirling that i noticed he basically admitted he cared for her. and it's just too perfect to leave unmentioned and un-expanded on.  
> and i did originally want it to be a bit sexier, but it just ended up being suggestive and fluffy as all get out.  
> (and as noted in the actual novel and here, this drabble is set between episode 2 & 3 of season 2.)

"The thing is, I don't fancy having a kip on the floor. If I'm important enough to be immortalized in marble tomorrow, I think we could at least _share_ that thing."

Rose gestured over to the small bed, made up with freshly washed white sheets, the thread count of which probably outnumbered the Doctor's age, and gave him what could only be described as puppy eyes.

The Doctor was still hesitant to acknowledge exactly what was happening. Even as the memories from visiting New New York, and just slightly further back, that deadly game-station, were fresh in his mind. Rose was fond of him, and he was...well, not terribly _un-fond_ of her.

Sleeping in the same bed? Lying right beside her? He'd be lucky if he dozed. He couldn't possibly hope to catch a wink if he wanted too. But he needed all his wits about him if they were to solve their latest mystery.

"If you insist, my lady, but I'll be perfectly content in the lounge chaise."

His flowery prose and affected accent simply masked his nervous tone, and did their job well.

Rose rolled her eyes, hiding her disappointment behind her cheeky smile and shrug of her shoulders.

"Fine with me. You martyr you."

She mumbled under her breath, but he caught the phrase just the same.

"Rose, you have no idea." He thought to himself, moving away from her to let her prepare for bed.

***

He kept still only as long as it took her to fall asleep, deep lingering repose that only came about from a busy day in a different time.

He heard the soft murmurings of her breath, and the occasional word slipped out while she dreamed.

Quiet footsteps led him to her side, and he curled up next to her, just close enough to catch the smell of her hair, which resembled sun warmed honey mixed with vanilla. He dared not touch her; he merely reveled in her essence, her being.

Rose Tyler was safe and sound, and at his side. He couldn't bear it any other way. If anything happened to challenge that, _nothing_ could stop him from making the world right again.

***

The next morning, before the sun had even risen, the Doctor was out among the orchards, breathing in the peach blossoms, and marveling how they could mask even the dank smell of the poor city sewers from the air.

Not a pleasant thought, but he was promptly distracted by the sound of a familiar voice.

"When I woke up and found you missing, I was afraid you'd gone off and eaten breakfast without me." A slight pout marred her usually cheerful face, and the Doctor couldn't resist a bit of teasing.

"Weeell who's to say I didn't?"

Before she could get any closer, and risk driving him mad with her confoundingly innocent touches that somehow never felt innocent to this newer form, he jerked his head back to the villa,

"Not to worry. I made them leave you some veggies from dinnertime."

Rose grinned at him, tongue tucked between teeth,

"Ooh good. I love a cold salad in the morning."

***

Halfway through their breakfast conversation, seconds before the Doctor was prepared to confess about the true sleeping arrangements from the night before, a slave came up to interrupt them, politely, and inform them Gracilis wished to speak to them.

" _Another time._ " The Doctor mumbled into his napkin, before tossing it aside and following Rose out of the room.

***

A nightmare in ancient Rome, this was one for the history books! Except they'd never know, not really.

But the feeling of Rose in his arms, returned to soft warm human being, and no longer hard unyielding stone beneath his hands was enough to pacify him.

For that moment.

Then chaos took back over the world.

The unthinkable happened, timelines twisted and grew hazy, and before he could stop Ursus from touching Vanessa, he had been hit with the faux sculptors other hand, and time stood still.

_Literally._

He had been frozen, turned to stone, and he couldn't even warn Rose.

***

Then it was moving again.

Time flowed in his vision and cleared up again.

He knew what had happened, what magnificent thing she'd done.

Rose, his brilliant beautiful companion had saved his life, brought him back to life.

 

He needed to tell her.

She threw her arms around him, glad to have him back in the world of the living. He was just as joyful.

But then, she began to pull away, but he couldn't let her go, not yet.

He leaned down, ignoring her questioning stare, and kissed her on the lips.

Her full, soft and slightly chapped lips.

Or perhaps that was the feel of his own?

He'd been stone for hours after all. She'd probably had had no time to apply chapstick to either of them.

Not that it mattered.

His eyes watched hers until they fell shut, and she melted into him.

That was when he pulled back. No need to get distracted in the moment.

Never mind that it was their first real kiss, barring the time vortex, meddling skin flaps and the end of the world. It was the Doctor kissing Rose Tyler, simply because he was happy to have her back. He was happy to be back. To be alive.

***

They set everything back to rights, Vanessa home to her proper time, and the GENIE freed and placed where it could do no harm.

The Doctor flipped the switch to take them back to earth, to Rose's time, the museum, Mickey, and the Statue, but felt a pang of regret.

He shouldn't have done it. Even now his mind was racing around, desperately trying to find the strand of time that would tell him he'd not set in motion a disastrous event, that could mean her leaving him, just because he couldn't control himself.

"Did you mean it?"

His favorite human piped up from where she was perched on the jump seat, observing him, doing basically nothing but brood off into space.

"Mean what?"

He shook his head and focused his brown eyes on her, and was astonished to see her blush.  
  
"When you said you loved me."  
  
The Doctor cocked a brow, so high it almost vanished into his magnificent bangs. He could have sworn his hearts actually skipped a beat over that achingly long silence.  
  
"Did I say that?"  
  
His mind raced back to light speed furiously, tracing over every detail, every word that had left his mouth in the last few moments. He came up blank.  
  
"Sorry. I guess you didn't say that exactly. But you implied it."

The Doctor's face still looked strangely calm, not quite the Oncoming Storm yet. Just the tide perhaps.  
  
Then it clicked.  
  
"Weeell yes. You humans. Can't stand most of you half the time, but you are among the more loveable species."

He gave her a wide smile, and pretended he didn't merely imagine how her face fell.

She nodded, and slumped back against the seat, before replying,

"Of course yeah. We're something else we are."

Rose chewed on her bottom lip, and looked around the TARDIS, anywhere but the Doctor. She felt foolish. That he would ever say something to her, like that, she'd have to be daft. Even that he'd kissed her, simply out of gratefulness they had both been okay. How could she blame him? She'd been scared to death of dying, and he'd saved her. Then she'd merely returned the favor. Simple.  
  
Reading anything into it was pointless. It was something straight out of her dream from the other night. Asleep in that villa, she'd had a mad vision that she and the Doctor might have shared the bed, and she'd sworn she'd felt an arm hold her close, but waking alone, painfully so, had put her to rights.  


"Rose?"  
  
"Yeah?"

"I did mean it."

Her eyes jumped over to look at him so fast everything went blurry, and it took her a second to realize he was actually sitting beside her. She'd gotten so lost in thought; she'd tuned out even him.

Tears were shining in her eyes and her voice trembled as she spoke,

"You did?"

The high pitched squeak that escaped her hardly sounded human, but the Doctor was no fool. He could see what it meant for her to know. To finally have proof. He reached up his hand to gently stroke her cheek, brushing away the tear that had escaped,

"Yep."

He didn't bother popping the 'p,' he had her full attention without his usual gimmicks,

"I love you. Even with all the trouble you cause, I help a lot with that don't I? I only pick the best. I picked you. I don't know what I'd do without you, Rose Tyler.”

The tears didn't stay put long, and Rose practically knocked them both off the jump seat with the force of her embrace. Her arms wrapped around the Doctor and she smiled happily as she felt him return the hug.

"I said forever and I meant it too."

"Oh Rose, we still have to go the museum. Don't want to keep your friend waiting do we?"

Rose pulled away from him and frowned,

"Oi, you know how to kill a mood you do. What are we tossing about in then? A matchbox? No. It's a time machine innit? Mickey can wait. You, I'm tired of waiting on. Show me where your room is."

The Doctor would have attempted to look shocked, but he wasn't up to arguing. His Rose wasn't made of stone, nor was she fooling about.

He couldn't say he wasn't fond of it, this way she had about her.

"Yes ma'am. Right this way."

He stood them up, and offered her his arm, echoing a move he'd done many times, in this body and the last.

And oh how glad he was that he'd ever met Rose, and told her "Run!"

***

**END**


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